(Closed) Gifts for everyone!!!

I need some good ideas for gifts to get our parents (and step-parents) for our wedding… All three sets (FI’s parents divorced and remarried, both have been in around the majority of his life) of parents have been ridiculously generous and hugely helpful with the planning (we will end up paying for less than 10% of the entire cost of the wedding out of our pockets) and we really want to pay it forward. We’ve spoiled the heck out of our bridal party members with their gifts, and want the parents to know how much we appreciate them too! We plan on buying each of them an album from the photographer, and I am having family portraits taken at the rehearsal dinner that we will get printed on canvas after the wedding, but I just feel like I owe them so much more!!! I need another tangible item or two for them at the rehearsal dinner.

Also, we are having “ushers” in addition to groomsmen. They are not in the tuxes, but they get boutonierres and help seat people. Any ideas for a little gift for them? We are not doing any of the monogrammed stuff, we got the groomsmen cufflinks, a scotch glass set (coasters, sippin stones, glasses) and a nice bottle of scotch. And my bridesmaids are getting literally everything you could possibly imagine buying a bridesmaid.

Is there anyone else I should buy gifts for? The officiant will probably get a B&N gift certificate in a book that goes with our theme…

I like giving gifts more than receiving them… 🙂 Obviously nothing extravagant (Louis Vuitton luggage) but I wouldn’t consider myself “on a budget” for the parents gifts; however, I am very good at DIY as well (not-so-humble brag). I want to avoid Things Remembered, though, haha!!

TheOtter: I think we have to be careful about how much we spend on the parents’ gifts, otherwise it looks like you are spending their money. If you have enough money for all these gifts for the parents, you could have used it to pay for your own wedding.

I would get the ushers the same as the groomsmen. They actually do more work. The groomsmen simply wait in the back with the groom.

@julies1949 We did not ask our parents for any money, they have basically refused to let us pay for much on our own. So it is not about us spending “their” money on gifts instead of the wedding. Believe me, we try to say no, but they insist. It’d be a long story to explain the family dynamics, but trust that my FI and I are both very simple people, and our parents are choosing this opportunity to spoil us, since we don’t allow it otherwise. <br /><br />The groomsmen will be seating people as well, and have other duties the day of, plus planning the bachelor party, so I disagree that the ushers have more work to do…

TheOtter: We were thinking of having a personal chef go to my parents and cook a special dinner for them . . . That way it’s not a THING for them to keep track of, and it’s something special they wouldn’t do for themselves otherwise! Perhaps a gift certificate for something like that for your parents?

an idea i’ve heard of which i LOVE and am going to steal, is to buy the parents a night or two away at a close b&b or winery. that way, they get something special that’s an experience (if your parents are anything like mine they have everything they want, and lots of crap they don’t!) and they get a little R&R 🙂

we’re thinking of gifting my parents a night at a winery with a special dinner and wine tasting and maybe a round of golf at a nearby course. it’s only an hour away so they can schedule it whenever they like and not to be indelicate, but if my parents want something, they’ll buy it, so this is something they might not otherwise have done.